NYU baseball player makes it to the MLB draft - 1st in 40 years

In this year’s amateur MLB draft, catcher CJ Picerni became the first player in 40 years to be drafted out of New York University. The Washington Nationals drafted him in the 31st round, with the 934th pick overall. The last player to be drafted from this prestigious university was Kevin McNichol by the New York Yankees back in 1974. NYU has not had a player drafted due to the stoppage of the school’s baseball program from 1974 to 2015. The catcher recorded 80 hits, 54 RBIs and three homeruns during the span of his two-year career at the university. Not only a talent at the plate, Picerni also knows how to use his glove and is a leader on the field.

Named to the Second team University Athletic Association (UAA) in 2015, this California native graduated from Montclair Prep in 2011. After playing at Junior College, CJ was named captain of the NYU team and led them to two 20-win seasons.

When he isn’t behind the plate, Picerni studies sports management. Now he looks to make a splash in the big leagues, although the task certainly will not be easy. With only about 10 percent of minor league players making the step into the pros, Picerni will have a tough road ahead of him. Unlike most, however, he does get the chance to continue following his dreams playing the sport he loves. Regardless where he ends up in his baseball career, this feat of being the first player drafted in four decades is an honor.

More From The Latest

Times got rough for the Warriors, but it was then that they turned to Iguodala to set scores straight. Andre Iguodala was thought to very easily become M.V.P. of the NBA finals one more time, which he actually did. It was a tough competition against his teammate Stephen Curry. Becoming the MVP…

Kobe Bryant played for 20 years, his entire career, for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is named the youngest player in NBA history to achieve 30,000 career points. In one game alone, he scored more than 60 points and in another he scored more than 80 points. He is also recognized as the all-time leading…

LeBron James is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He is 31 years old and still playing as passionately as ever in his professional career. He has a legion of fans and there are some who are jealous of his skills and success. There are multiple rumours about the future of his…

For basketball fans, the last season was one full of surprises. Not only some of the best players retired or were transferred to other teams, but also some were ejected during a game. This was the case for J.R. Smith, a player of the Cleveland Cavaliers. J.R Smith has a reputation of being impulsive…

News Gallery

From Our Desk

In one of the saddest and most recent death in the world of athletics, star forward for Oklahoma State Tyrek Coger died after an extensive workout in a very hot gym. Oklahoma State basketball coach Brad Underwood gave an extremely emotional statement about the incident, saying “This is the…

After 24 years without winning a lacrosse championship, the North Carolina Tar Heels won over the Maryland Terrapins with a 14-13 score in overtime. The game was led by Sophomore Chris Cloutier on the N. Carolina side as he scored five goals, including the winning fourteenth one. Luke Goldstock made…

The world of gymnastics is more exciting than ever before. You would agree if you had watched this year’s NCAA championship. Many talented college athletes competed in front of record crowds. Gymnastics is still one of the favorite sports of the world. Oklahoma was one of the favorite teams…

The new playoffs format for the NCAA Football Championships has added a whole new level of excitement to the sport. 2016 saw Clemson beat Oklahoma and Alabama beat Michigan State in the Semifinals, with Alabama beating Clemson 45 to 40 for the National Championship at the University of Phoenix…

Here is a brief but triumphant outline of the Stanford Cardinals, representing Stanford University. Oct 2015: The Stanford Cardinals beat UCLA in a dominating 56-35 win at Stanford Stadium. The sophomore of Castle Rock, Christian McCaffrey, had a record night in the win by running for 369 yards and…